The client’s requirement was to open up a small and dimly lit basement within a Grade II listed Georgian town house and form a compact kitchen, dining and living area.

The centrepiece of the project is a three dimensional furniture element which is used to define and differentiate functional zones and to re-orientate the dynamic of the room. A plane of rich warm sucupira hardwood folds to form a worktop on which to cook, a lowered soffit and a cantilevered bench. This creates an intimate sense of place, centred around a large cantilevered dining table which provides a natural focal point for gathering.

The kitchen units, worktop and floor form a neutral palette; acting as a backdrop for the activities therein.

Natural light brought in through the newly created lightwell to the front and artificial lighting provides ambient light, focus and separation; illuminating both objects and redefined space.

The project has been exhibited at the Architect’s Journal Small Projects Award in the RIBA and 100% design and The Wood Awards in the City of London.